Tag: scotland

I feel that the burst of folk-influenced indie rock led to the bastardization of the genre, watering it down with meaningless drivel. But, every once in awhile I stumble upon something that’s fascinating for some reason or another, which is where I found the brothers that make up JR Green of Scotland. They’ve discarded the oft-used fiddle/violin and replaced it with accordion, adding something that creates a melodic buzz behind the lead vocal; I like the occasional shouted vocal for backing that jumps out from time to time too. You’ll find this song on the band’s new Bring the Witch Doctor EP, being released at the end of the month by Hits the Fan Records.

It was a shame growing up without music on the Internet; I feel like I missed out on so many great things, only to discover them later on in life. This was much the case with Nectarine No. 9, who I only discovered a few years ago while following a UK forum on 90s tunes. Luckily for those like me, Heavenly Recordings is reissuing the band’s great LP, Saint Jack. Probably the strangest thing is seeing how much I would have loved this, knowing that I stuck pretty close to a lot of the Brit-pop acts of the mid-90s. I’m glad I came across a few of these songs a bit ago, and now you can discover them for yourself…unless of course you had already found them.

I’m sure some of you heard this track yesterday so I apologize for my tardiness in sharing this if you’ve already heard it. That’s okay by me though because The Twilight Sad has long been an ATH favorite and this new track called “There’s a Girl in the Corner” is just too good not to share. The band yet again highlight their special way of blending dark pop with heavy bass lines and emotionally packed vocals. These guys continue to get better and better.

New album, Nobody Wants to be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave, is due out October 28th on FatCat Records.

After reaffirming their prowess with me during SXSW, Scots We Were Promised Jetpacks are returning this fall with an album of new material. Previewing the new jams before the release date is this new one called “Safety in Numbers”. To be honest, the song lacks a little bit of that power that we’re used to from the band, but the melodies are still there and hard to deny.

Stay tuned for the release date of new album Unravelling this fall on Fatcat Records.

SXSW coverage continues this week with Scottish band Withered Hand. They’re heading overseas just in time for the release of their album, New Gods, which is coming to us courtesy of Slumberland Records/Fortuna Pop. Both labels are reliable, and the music has already proven to be worthy of high praise. Read on for the band’s answers to our questions, and look forward to dates featuring the band coming soon. Read more

Holy Esque is a Scottish band we discovered a couple of years ago after hearing their irresistible tunes on the interwebs. Luckily for us, the band has decided to stop in for our little SXSW festival in March AND are giving us this new single “Silences”. It’s yet another tune where you can feel the emotion and power behind every guitar note and vocal yell. I’ve already got these guys near the top of my festival to watch list. I recommend you do the same.

Glasgow continues to be almost like an American version of Brooklyn with countless quality indie bands popping up what seems like daily. This new act to me, Yakuri Cable, is yet another band from the area that has perked up my ears today. Their sound immediately makes me think of fellow Scots My Latest Novel as the minimalistic and deep vocals could almost be the same lead singer. Is it? Things veer away from comparisons as the band add in some interesting synths in the back and give us a nice little pop rock out with this song “Line of Sight”.

There’s gotta be something in the water in Scotland that encourages the development of indie pop bands. I can name a handful of bands that are on my all time favorites list, and a growing list of acts that keep pushing exporting great pop records. My latest discovery is The Occasional Flickers who will soon be releasing their new single on Cloudberry Records. There’s definitely an homage to early B&S here, with that driving guitar line that fits perfectly with the vocal melody; you’ll find yourself hooked to this track in absolutely no time at all. Cheers to you Scotland, and your wonderful indie pop exports!

It’s a good thing I have some sort of lineage in Scotland, otherwise I’d feel sort of odd about the way I fawn over their musicians. I’m pretty sure this is the second Scottish track I’ve posted this week, and I’m okay with that. Calm as the Colour is a four-piece (again not from Glasgow), and I was completely caught off guard when I heard the work they’ve put in on their recent Tomorrow Belongs to a World Apart EP. It’s got four great tracks, and this one in particular approximates my love of both loud guitars and tight-knit guitar-monies. It’s a pretty pop ballad, and sometimes those do just the trick!

It’s been a long, slow week and I feel like it’s time for some good ‘ol honest rock music in my life to perk things up a bit. I’m satisfying my desires with not one, but two new songs coming your way from Glasgow based rock group PAWS. Both songs are fairly straight forward rock tunes with nice drum action behind simple guitars and dual vocal duties. I’m on board with Nate and also giving them my stamp of approval. As previously mentioned, PAWS have a new album entitled CokeFloat! coming out on October 6th via FatCat.